Our newest additions...

Thank you Lola for my new clothes. We especially love the little duckies on the feet!

Thank you Grandma for my first piggy bank. Mommy and Daddy are working to fill it up!

Thank you Angie for my first Bears outfits. Can't wait to let everyone know which one I'll be wearing!

Thank you Gerry for the silver elephants. They go perfect with my bedroom!

And Sweet Pea, too...

We had our 24 week visit to Dr. Heimburger yesterday. We both like him a lot. He's patient with us and answers all our questions without ever making us feel uncomfortable, stupid, or like we're wasting his time. He has a nice sense of humor and has been very supportive of us and our needs. We've seen him for most of our visits and keep our fingers crossed that he'll be able to deliver Baby T.

Baby continues to grow as expected, and then some. My belly should measure about 1cm for every week of pregnancy. I'm 26 cm and just 24 weeks pregnant. Doctor says we're normal though- it's just an estimate. I'd rather be a little big than too small. Baby's heart rate was 158 and moving lots as usual. We've started a new movement pattern this week. Baby wakes up with me when my alarm goes off and moves around until I decide to get out of bed. I usually have more movement after breakfast while I'm on my way to work, then again after lunch. Baby sleeps until around 9pm, when it's pretty active for about an hour. Baby settles down again when I go to bed, and then... WAKES ME UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! I found that I was waking up in the middle of the night for no reason this week- it was weird; I didn't need to use the bathroom, but I found myself awake and with Baby kicking. At first I thought it was a coincidence, but then I realized Baby is waking me up with it's kicks. That's fine with me though; that's a great thing to wake up to!

Our next appointment is in four weeks and then they increase frequency to every two weeks after that. We'll start to have weekly appointments at about week 35 until Baby is born!

We had our annual Halloween party at Vince's today. It was great, as always. He started a haunted house last year and decided to have an even bigger one this year. He actually builds it next to his house and it is amazing. I thought I weaseled my way out of it this year (I get really scared), but at the end of the night he brought me in with the lights on and after the hired help had gone home. It really deserves recognition, it's excellent.

Mom was a witch, Dad ended up a "college student", Mark was a gynecologist, Marla was Baby Valentino the Filipino Tolentino, Vince was Chuckie, Sandy was the bride of Chuckie, Shane and Branden were scary dudes, and Andrew was... a banana or a yellow blob or... well he really wasn't sure either; but he was big and yellow. We celebrated Shane's birthday too, so he had a bunch of friends over and family was there as well.

Just "eatin' me spinach!"

So, are you excited??

Hi there everyone!

Today is Monday, October 20, 2008 and we are officially into our 23rd week of this journey. I wake up each morning feeling so happy! And I am so thankful to God for blessing me with good health, a good job, the most wonderful family, best friends, two great and crazy dogs, the most beautiful wife, and of course, the little baby that is growing inside of her. We are quickly approaching the end of the 2nd trimester and I have to keep reminding myself to embrace this experience. It is going by way too fast. But then again, the quicker it does go, the sooner Baby will be here!

Baby started to move and kick several weeks ago. But it wasn’t necessarily that easy for me to be part of it. It seemed like every time Baby started to move, Baby knew I was coming and would start the little game of cat and mouse. By the time I was able to place my hand on her belly, the baby would say, ‘haha! Made you get off your butt!’ I would wait for a while and then grow increasingly impatient within a few minutes, only the have Joelle say, “Christian, you have to wait. You can’t just expect to have the baby start kicking as soon as you come over.” Well, um, okay. But isn’t that why you summoned me over in the first place? I get it though!

During those times that I have felt Baby kick, it makes my eyes get really big and makes my heart beat a little bit faster. It is so ridiculously amazing to know that there is a little person that Joelle is carrying around in her belly. We went to see Dirty Dancing for our 3rd Wedding Anniversary and the Baby was dancing to the music. Hopefully we get out to a Bears football game to see if it shows the same (hopefully more) enthusiasm as it did for the play. You can almost bet that each night, at around 9:00pm, Baby will know it is close to bed time for Joelle and find that comfortable spot for the rest of the evening. I can’t wait to hold the Baby for the first time.

The second, most popular question that I get is “do you think it is going to be a boy or a girl?” I do not typically give the standard, “I don’t know. All I hope for is a healthy baby,” answer. Obviously, that goes without saying, but in all honesty, I can say that I have felt from the beginning that it will be a boy. Don’t ask me why, who my resource is, or where I get my information from because I do not know. The overwhelming majority of family and friends continue to support the ‘It’s going to be a girl campaign.’ Which again, is fine by me. And in case you were wondering what the post popular question I get is, please see the title of this Entry!

In conclusion and the spirit (no pun intended) of Halloween, I thought it would be fun to share some Halloween pictures with you. It is definitely one of our favorite days of the year! The first time I met her family was Halloween! I was invited to the house in Itasca and was told that I would not be allowed in without a costume. Can you imagine a Filipino cowboy walking into the house with a 10 gallon hat? It was definitely a day that I will never forget. It was on that day, my father-in-law (F.I.L), being the bright and intuitive person he is, was Right On when he started planning our wedding date. This is Halloween '03 (just meeting the family).

Take good care everyone! Thanks for sharing in our experience. Thank you Mom, Dad, Mama G, and F.I.L. for all of your love, support, and prayers. We love you!

-Christian

Halloween '02 (just friends)

Halloween '05 (just married)

Halloween '06 (just flying)

Halloween '07 (just catching ghosts)

Halloween '08... JUST HAVE TO WAIT 'TILL NEXT WEEK!

The Story of the Three Bears

For the record, I should mention that although this looks like I am wearing a strapless bra on the outside of my shirt, it is nothing more than an optical illusion! (The tank top I have under the shirt I am wearing is folded over my top for the picture...)
It's our last week of month five! I am still feeling well and full of energy! Baby continues to move more than ever. Its weight is one pound now and is developing senses of touch, sight, hearing, and taste. They say if I shine a flashlight to my belly, baby will move away from the light. I'm just not sure I'm willing to try this, it seems cruel.
Knowing baby can hear now, Christian read us The Story of the Three Bears this morning. We pulled it out of one of the story books I have saved since I was probably six years old. It was good practice for him to manipulate his voice into the characters of the story... in this particular story, Papa Bear had the voice of Chris Rock. We'll continue to work on that.
We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary this week by going to see Dirty Dancing at the Cadillac Palace, downtown. It was a really good time; that's my favorite movie!
We made our way back to Geneva today for breakfast and walked through a few shops again. It's a good thing we don't know the sex of our baby- we'd be broke! The clothes they sell are beautiful and so unique. So, we left without making a dent in our pocketbooks, but certainly anticipating the reveal of the sex of Baby T!

Some new pictures...

Riley and Pacey... (Pacey looks like she wishes she could be on the couch instead of this hard floor, right?!)

Dad and Christian displaying their strong arms and fabulous teamwork!

Mom and Christian getting the crib to just the right height.


Our latest addition... the changing table and dresser.

I can't wait to start decorating and pulling the pieces together to turn this all into a beautiful nursery!

Shopping for Baby T.

Baby's been moving around like crazy. There's a pretty predictable schedule going on... Around 7am the fun begins- baby settles around 9am. I notice a lot of movement when I get home from work too, and then more around 8:30pm when I lay down on the couch. Baby's about 3/4 of a pound and is around 10.5 inches in length. It can hear us when we talk or sing, so we do quite a bit of that. Baby was jamming to "Chocolate Factory" today on the way to Home Goods. (Not so sure how I feel about that in retrospect.) It is funny though how many hip hop songs are written for "baby"... Typically not appropriate for a true BABY, but some do convert quite well.

(I've gained 23 lbs; let's move on to the next subject.)

It's been a busy two weeks... we've started to pick out items we'd like to register for and have been furniture shopping like crazy. We're trying to get as much done as possible since studying is the priority from now through November and then the holidays will be creeping up on us.

Although it's been fun, it certainly has been a lot more work than we had anticipated. It's not just about picking out cute things... they first have to be safe, then we have to see how other parents rated them. So I have had my heart set on a few items; they are rated well for safety, and cute too, and then I get home and read parent ratings and find out the items are just not practical or don't quite do all the manufacturer had intended. So then back to square one.

And then bottles- forget it! I could read about bottles for the next four months and still not know which brand to purchase. All this controversy and new information about the need for BPA free bottles, then the hype about the glass bottles (not sure how I feel about this yet), and then the question "to vent or not to vent", oh- and the nipples... gotta be good nipples too. Just when you think you've got it figured out, somebody starts talking about the benefits of disposable liners in the bottles. And how many do you need of each size? Really, I could go on and on.

The baby's room is starting to get some more attention too. My dad and Christian are going to pick up a crib and armoire tomorrow; we also found a dresser that we love. It's not part of the set, but it's a beauty. If it's not the look we like once they're in the room together, we've got some back up plans. In the end we may just get a piece that is a match to the armiore and crib. We'll see- our minds are open. Christian has been looking for decorating ideas and found a nice color scheme he's excited to show me at a Geneva shop, hopefully during the week.

We have reached our goal of keeping the pups off the couch- we still really want to pick them up and cuddle them while we watch TV, but we know it's best for all of us that we don't. I'm pretty proud of them and of us too! (I know they still probably jump on when we're not home, but as long as they aren't jumping on when we're there, we've had success!) Yeah, Pacey and Riley!

My mom had this shirt made for me... I love it! I've been waiting for the weather to cool off so I could wear it. Thank you! (Christian wants to know when his will be arriving.)